President Muhammadu Buhari on
Tuesday recalled events leading to his ouster as Nigeria’s military head of
state and eventual incarceration for three years by a military government that
succeeded him.

Mr Buhari’s short stint as
Nigeria’s military ruler ended in August 1985 following a palace coup by
unhappy elements within the military ranks led by his Chief of Army Staff,
Ibrahim Babangida.

He said it was a battle he lost
against corruption.

Speaking at the commissioning of
new office complex for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr
Buhari repeated his claim that his removal was due to his stance against
corruption.

He said he is not deterred by the
notion that when you fight corruption, corruption would fight back.

“My first attempt to fight
corruption, corruption fought back successfully. I was removed from office and
detained for three years,” he said.

The president said in spite of
that experience, his “objective of fighting corruption remained steadfast.”

Mr Buhari explained that since
his coming to office as elected president in 2015, he has made “very conscious
decisions” to pursue the fight against corruption.

Citing recoveries of “trillions”
of naira he said his government has made from corrupt officials, the president
gave himself a pass mark, saying he has made “significant progress” in the
fight against corruption.

He said there is now a
realisation that “corrupt officials would be brought to justice no matter how
long it takes.”

In indirect response to
allegations of bias in the government’s fight against corruption, Mr Buhari
said his administration “never intended and does not engage in with-hunting”
but “will call people to account within the law.”

He urged the National Assembly to
“add more verve” to the government’s effort by “reviewing archaic provisions”
that would address lapses in the legal frameworks.